| Randall Farmer, a member of Brock Clay's Education Law practice group and the leader of the firm’s Employment practice group, has more than 15 years of experience advising school districts, cities and private employers on numerous legal issues such as procurement, employment-based claims, special education matters and FERPA confidentiality issues. Mr. Farmer works with clients such as the Fulton County School District, Cobb County School District, Clayton County School District, Elbert County School District and Marietta City School District, among other school districts throughout Georgia. He has successfully handled Title VII claims, Fair Labor Standards Act cases, investigation of ethics violations, contract disputes, Fair Dismissal Act cases, Title VI investigations from the Office for Civil Rights, charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and other numerous employment-related claims. He also provides legal advice to school districts on procurement matters, risk management issues, personal injury claims, FERPA confidentiality issues, student issues, and compliance with the Open Records Act.
Mr. Farmer also advises insurers that provide insurance coverage to schools and private entities, representing them through a variety of insurance defense matters from medical malpractice and general liability to products and premises liability. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Farmer worked in the House of Representatives as a legislative assistant to the Honorable Ted Weiss (N.Y.), where he handled a wide variety of legislative and constituent matters, including covering the House Banking Committee. Mr. Farmer also drafted legislation for Mr. Weiss, including an amendment to the Perkins Loan Act that became federal law. While in Washington, D.C., he also co-founded College Bound, an educational non-profit organization to enrich the educational opportunities for D.C. public school students by providing scholarship monies and tutoring. He is also actively involved in another non-profit which provides a scholarship to Myers Park High School in Charlotte, N.C. After working in Washington, D.C., Mr. Farmer served as a public school teacher for four years in Atlanta Public Schools. REPRESENTATIVE CLIENT HIGHLIGHTS Some of Mr. Farmer's notable achievements on behalf of his clients include: Education Law - Successfully defending bid protests, resulting in dismissal of lawsuit seeking injunctive relief; successfully defending a variety of personal injury claims against school districts throughout the State of Georgia.
Employment Law - Successfully defended lawsuits involving claims of discrimination or retaliation under Title VII, retaliation under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, alleged violations of the Fourth Amendment, and breach of contract claims.
Insurance Defense - Successfully representing one of eight defendants involved in a major construction accident, resulting in a cost-effective resolution of the matter.
PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT - Member, The State Bar of Georgia
- Member, School Attorneys Group
- Member, Defense Research Institute
- Pro Bono Attorney Volunteer, Profit Theatre
HONORS & AWARDS SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & PUBLICATIONS - Presenter, "What Can School Officials Say and Do? First Amendment Issues in Schools," GASPA Conference, St. Simons Island, GA (December 2009)
- Presenter, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The Fair Labor Standards Act and Educators," 2009 Annual GACE Conference, Young Harris, GA (June 2009)
- Presenter, "Contracts 101: What Every Administrator Should Know (And Avoid) When Entering Into Contracts," 2008 Annual Convention for the Association of School Business Officers, Denver, CO (November 2008)
- Presenter, "What Can Teachers Do, Say and Teach: First Amendment Issues in Teaching," Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA (July 2007)
- Presenter, "Tort Liability Issues for Educators," Georgia High School Coaches Association (July 2003)
- Presenter, "Off Campus Misconduct, On Campus Consequences: The Nexus Between Off Campus Behavior and On Campus Consequences," Georgia School Boards Association Meeting, Marietta, GA (December 2004)
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